House of Crows
House of Crows
Three generations of women struggle and toil to better their lot in life in the earliest days of Victoria, from its origins as a remote settlement on Vancouver Island to its status as a burgeoning city. In her maid’s uniform, looking at her mother and grandmother in their widow’s weeds, Maggie dubs their shared home ‘the House of Crows’.
Edie journeys across oceans, searching for the place where she can build a home.
Lucy readies herself for the challenges of a new world, only to suffer loss after loss.
Maggie slaves away her days in service to the rich, never losing hope that more awaits.
From scrabbling in a work camp to the meagre comforts of their shared home looking out at the better lives being lived near the water’s edge, these women face constant challenges as they build the future of their family and city.
Review quotes:
“House of Crows is a captivating read.
Three generations. Three women. Three stories that span the formative years between 1852 and 1898, alternating narratives between Edie, the grandmother from Edinburgh, Scotland; Lucy, the mother, who grieves the death of her beloved husband; and Maggie, the daughter, who works as a maid for a wealthy family that lives on the ocean’s edge. These women forge a path through very challenging times and their stories lay the foundations of possibility and hope for our modern world.
Written from seeds scattered through archival sources, the women’s voices in this novel have an authenticity seldom seen in historical fiction. They say that crows speak a specific dialect unique to the West Coast, and this novel captures that language from the vantage point of the newcomer.
Author Edeana Malcolm weaves the story of three women into the history of Victoria as it grows from isolated wilderness to burgeoning metropolis. House of Crows reminds us that place is identified by the people who live there and the stories that made them who they are — and vice-versa.
If you love historical fiction and stories about women by women for women… this is your book!”
— Sheri-D Wilson, D. Litt, C.M., Member of the Order of Canada, Poet Laureate Emeritus of Calgary (2018–2020), and author of Open Letter: Woman against Violence against Women
“Deftly weaving the lives of three generations of women together, House of Crows reveals a precarious survival in 19th century Victoria, where longing and loss threaten to tear families apart.”
— Vanessa Winn, Author of Trappings and The Chief Factor’s Daughter